When
the Times Square bombing suspect was first reported to be a “white
male,” I shook my head. I knew that, despite Mayor Bloomberg’s
asinine musings about how the perpetrator was probably “homegrown”
and perhaps someone upset about the healthcare bill, this was nonsense.
“It’s about as likely as a story about Bill Clinton becoming
a monk,” I thought.

Of
course, this was no great insight. Given that 99 percent of the terrorists
bedeviling us today are non-white Muslims, it was just common sense
— otherwise known as profiling.

The
critics of Arizona’s new immigration law complain that it will
lead to “racial profiling.” In response, the law’s
defenders point out that the legislation specifically forbids the practice.

Both
groups are wrong.

They
accept two false suppositions. The first is that the practice in question
is immoral.

The
second is that “racial profiling” actually exists.

Generally
speaking, it does not — that is, not in the sense of a phenomenon
widespread enough to warrant continual media attention. In reality, there
are only two kinds of profiling: good profiling and bad profiling. Let’s
discuss the difference.

Profiling
is simply a method by which law enforcement can determine the probability
that an individual has committed a crime or has criminal intent. Now,
when making this assessment, many different factors are considered.
Some have to do with age, sex, dress, behavior, the car being driven,
whether or not a person is “out of place” (e.g., a well-dressed
fellow in a BMW cruising a drug-plagued neighborhood), and, yes, some
have to do with race. But whatever the criteria, good profiling chooses
them in accordance with sound criminological science. And as soon as
we subordinate that standard to anything, such as political or social
concerns, we have rendered it bad profiling.

We also
render it unfair. That is, contrary to the notion that using racial factors
in profiling is discriminatory, in the negative sense of the word, it
is actually the refusal to consider them that is so.

I’ll
explain. I’m a member of one of the most profiled groups in the
country: males. Law enforcement views us much more suspiciously than
females because we commit an inordinate amount of crime. And we aren’t
the only ones, as youths also attract a jaundiced eye for the same reason.
Now, if considering race when profiling is “racism,” isn’t
considering sex and age “sexism” and “ageism”?

The
truth is that none of these things are any kind of ism. And is it just
to discriminate among higher-crime-incidence groups — scrutinizing
some more closely but not others — based on whether they are in
or out of favor politically and socially?

This
is where the capital-D discrimination lies. If you’re male or
a teen, you’re fair game. But, for instance, when the matter is
Muslims, the double standards fly. When seeking to identify terrorists,
the people who have no problem placing the probing eye on males warn
that Muslims mustn’t receive extra scrutiny. But why? As far as
the terrorist threat facing the West goes, “Muslim” is a
more consistent part of the terrorist profile than is “male,”
as there have been more female suicide bombers than non-Muslim ones.

Some
may say we must be especially sensitive with regard to race (yes, I realize
“Islamic” isn’t a race), but this is silly for two reasons.
First, it is a hang-up; it is suicidal to sacrifice blood on the altar
of political correctness. Second, there is no blanket refusal
to consider racial factors when profiling. For example, part of the profile
for serial killers and methamphetamine dealers is “Caucasian.”

Likewise,
given that more than 90 percent of the illegals in Arizona hail from Mexico
and Latin America, isn’t “Hispanic” part of the relevant
profile here? Mind you, the operative word is “part.” To say
“This person appears to be of Mexican descent, so he must be illegal”
is no different than assuming that every white person deals meth —
it would be bad profiling. But just as a meth dealer will usually exhibit
characteristics that distinguish him from Morris the accountant, an illegal
alien is usually distinguishable from an acculturated Hispanic American.

Advertisement

And
what if you’re a citizen who doesn’t exhibit the differences
or one who can’t distinguish them? If the former, now you know
why assimilation matters. And what of the latter? Then you aren’t
qualified to profile professionally.

Nevertheless, society
needs those who are. As Dr. Walter Williams once
wrote:

What
about using race or ethnicity as proxies for some unobserved characteristic?
Some racial and ethnic groups have a higher incidence of mortality from
various diseases than the national average. In 1998, mortality rates
for cardiovascular diseases were approximately 30 percent higher among
black adults than among white adults. Cervical cancer rates were almost
five times higher among Vietnamese women in the United States than among
white women. The Pima Indians of Arizona have the highest known diabetes
rates in the world. Prostate cancer is nearly twice as common among
black men as white men.

My,
those “racist” diseases. Of course, race’s and ethnicity’s
value as proxies isn’t limited to physical disease but extends
to so many things. Just ask Jesse Jackson. In
1993 he said, “There is nothing more painful to me . . . than
to walk down the street and hear footsteps and start thinking about
robbery, then look around and see somebody white and feel relieved.”

The
reality is that we all profile. For example, everyone (not just ol’
Jena
Jesse) has heard about something called a “suspicious-looking
character.” Also, having been raised in New York City, I’ve
often heard people be identified as “looking like tourists.”
Now, what do you think these things mean? We are able to thus categorize
people only because we’re all natural-born sociologists and psychologists;
we all possess some understanding of man’s behavior, of what is
normal in a given situation, and can use this knowledge to help assess
others’ status and intent. Who wouldn’t be wary of someone
with a buzz cut who sports a Swastika tattoo on his forehead? Who can’t
identify an angry countenance as just that?

Of
course, these are obvious examples, and the more subtle the behavior
and signs, the more discerning the observer must be to note and draw
correct conclusions from them. Regardless, this ability is good —
and wholly necessary for survival. It is no different from how we profile
animals and would pet the sheep but not the wolf; it allows us to avoid
danger, both to our person and the kind that could result in being wronged.
And when it’s applied by the police, we call it “profiling.”
Yet it is nothing but the application of common sense within the sphere
of law enforcement. Nevertheless, Jena Jesse and others would disallow
good profiling and insist that the police check their common sense at
the station-house door.

After
Dr. Williams discusses how the prevalence of certain diseases correlates
with race, he asks, “Would one condemn a medical practitioner
for advising greater screening and monitoring of black males for cardiovascular
disease and prostate cancer, or greater screening and monitoring for
cervical cancer among Vietnamese American females, and the same for
diabetes among Pima Indians?”

Unfortunately,
when the matter is the social disease of crime, we not only condemn
such a practice, we fire the good diagnosticians. For example, in an
older article about former attorney general John Ashcroft’s investigation
of 13 cities for “racial profiling” (thank you, George Bush),
ABC reports on efforts to eradicate the practice and writes,
“police officials who defended profiling have been removed from
their posts.” Translation: Our security has been placed in the
hands of PC lackeys.

Lest
I be misunderstood, I don’t say good profiling is the magic bullet
for Arizona’s illegal alien problem. In point of fact, I presented
more effective solutions in my piece “Immigration:
Solutions, Not Excuses.” My point is a larger one: Whether
the crime is violating borders, bodies or buildings, whether it’s
committed in Arizona or Anytown USA, good profiling is not just part
of law enforcement.

Subscribe
to the NewsWithViews Daily News Alerts!

Enter
Your E-Mail Address:

It’s
the heart law enforcement.

What
do you think the legal standard of “reasonable
suspicion” is? What should the police be suspicious of? Only
males, teens, and whites in certain situations?

The
bigots are not those who support good profiling, which scrutinizes all
groups in accordance with sound criminological science. It is the Times
Square bombing-analyst hopers (such as Contessa
Brewer) who play pin the tale on the honkey, doing their best imitation
of the three blind, deaf and mute monkeys.

Selwyn Duke is a writer, columnist
and public speaker whose work has been published widely online and in
print, on both the local and national levels. He has been featured on
the Rush Limbaugh Show and has been a regular guest on the award-winning
Michael Savage Show. His work has appeared in Pat Buchanan's magazine,
The American Conservative, and he writes regularly for The New American,
and Christian Music Perspective.

The truth is that
none of these things are any kind of ism. And is it just to discriminate
among higher-crime-incidence groups — scrutinizing some more closely
but not others — based on whether they are in or out of favor politically
and socially?